Hawaiian-style in Tokyo suburb

Mark Lynott · Post by **Mark Lynott** » 25 Nov 2007 9:45 pm

This pic is from a visit to Japan a few years back, taken at a Sunday market in Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo.

Hope you enjoy!

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 26 Nov 2007 9:06 am

Too bad you got a shot of everyone except the steel player! I can see his hands and the steel, but nothing else.

Mark Lynott · Post by **Mark Lynott** » 26 Nov 2007 10:32 am

Yeah, I should have...guess I was more keen on the ladies

At that time I had really no clue about Hawaiian music and dance, much less seeing it live in an office mall in a Tokyo suburb.

Here's two clips from it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhMOeaZr-C4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGZBrrUduRI

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 26 Nov 2007 2:32 pm

Hawaiian music is big in Japan, and they love anything Hawaiian. They have some really good steel players also.

Jackiso · Post by **Jackiso** » 26 Nov 2007 5:26 pm

There have been Hawaiian craze in Japan for quite some time, hula dancing in particular. You will see this kind of scene everywhere every weekend even in the wintertime when a tropical fever usually dies down.
We, a local amatuer Hawaiian band, play often back up for a hula group and earn public recognition of Hawaiian hula songs and a strange looking instrument, a steel guitar. Hawaiian bands sometimes get frustrated to find audience attention paid more to the hula dancers regardless of their age

To discharge this frustration, we had a band-only convention this late summer and 13 bands in the met-Tokyo area got together for each to play two half hour stages. Realistically however hawaiian music playing and hula dancing help each other and together they contribute to preserve the Hawaiian culture in the Japanese fashion.
Jack Isomura
Yokohama, Japan

Mark Lynott · Post by **Mark Lynott** » 26 Nov 2007 6:27 pm

This was in mid-November, and at the other end of the mall area vendors were selling ready-to-give wrapped Christmas presents and cards

As I recall the steel player that day either had the most mint condition Fender (US) ever seen, or perhaps more likely a newer Fender Japan or Canopus model. (?)

If Fender Japan steels are as well made as their standard guitars then I would seriously consider one.

Mat Rhodes · Post by **Mat Rhodes** » 27 Nov 2007 9:32 am

If Fender Japan steels are as well made as their standard guitars then I would seriously consider one.

I don't know about the Fenders, but the Cannabis guitars sound really good to me. Casey Olsen's my favorite Hawaiian steeler and he plays one. It's really smooth-sounding.

Bill Leff · Post by **Bill Leff** » 27 Nov 2007 9:44 am

I don't know about the Fenders, but the Cannabis guitars sound really good to me.

Not only do they sound good, they smell good too!

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 27 Nov 2007 12:57 pm

That's spelled Canopus. They are built by Yasu Kamiya in Japan. His wife is Mariko Seko, who plays very well.

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 27 Nov 2007 10:28 pm

I have a number of steel guitars...Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, et al. The best by far is my D-8 CANOPUS. Great sound.

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 28 Nov 2007 12:19 am

There were many Japanese steel guitar players coming to the 2007 HSGA convention in Honolulu, Hawaii.

There were as many Japanese steel guitar players performing as Mainland and Hawaii steel guitar players.

The Japanese steel players are making a profound contribution to perpetuating the Hawaiian steel guitar.

Aloha,

Don

Mat Rhodes · Post by **Mat Rhodes** » 28 Nov 2007 9:19 pm

Don, I know it seems like an unrelated topic, but could you tell if the Japanese players knew Hawaiian and English (language)? Outside of instrumentals and Hapa Haole tunes, it would seem that not being familiar with either one could pose a bit of a challenge to those trying to figure out lyrical passages, time slots, etc. I assume there's usually an interpreter present at these shows.

Makes me wonder how Derrick, Jeff, and (Bobby?) got around in 2006 when they went to Japan? Any stories, guys?

Jackiso, are there any links you could provide us that would allow us to hear the Japanese influence on the music?

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 28 Nov 2007 11:47 pm

Don,.... could you tell if the Japanese players knew Hawaiian and English (language)? ........I assume there's usually an interpreter present at these shows.

The Japanese vocalist who sing Hawaiian songs generally have the Hawaiian lyrics down pretty well. They will usually not understand each and every Hawaiian word, but generally know the themes of the song.

There are enough Japanese performers who do have a command of the English language so that they can present the songs and make additional comments. There are many however that do not have a good command of English and depend on the ones fluent in English to speak for them.

Outside of instrumentals and Hapa Haole tunes, it would seem that not being familiar with either one could pose a bit of a challenge to those trying to figure out lyrical passages, time slots, etc.

From my experience the Japanese try to emulate the authentic Hawaiian music by working quite hard at the lyrical passages. I believe they do very well at it. There are many top Japanese musicians and performers who have absolutely no trouble with the lyrical passages, timing, etc.

Interestingly,I had a wonderful time communicating with Motoyuki Suzuki from Japan. We did a lot of communicating but he understood very little English and I knew very, very little Japanese. We communicated a lot with gestures, had a lot of laughs and formed a good relationship during the convention.

Aloha,

Don

Jackiso · Post by **Jackiso** » 29 Nov 2007 5:21 am

Don, you are 100% right. To sing a foreign song before audience is a big challenge to us regardless of whether they understand the language or not. When playing for hula dancing, we have lyric sheet ready to make sure that the dancers hands will tell the right story.
To better understand Hawaiian lyrics, this site is very helpful:
http://www.huapala.org/

[quote]Jackiso, are there any links you could provide us that would allow us to hear the Japanese influence on the music?

You will see below one recent example of a Japanese song adapted(covered)by a Hawaiian musician:
Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSJbd17w ... ed&search=
Covered: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw6o6kyO ... re=related

Conversely many Hawaiian and western songs have been covered by Japanese Hawaiian bands. Some of the songs are not wellknown at home but become very popular here and assumed by many that those songs are Hawaiian music as they are played by a Hawaiian band. Take a look at the clips below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6QlXhCUIlw

The first song, On A Little Bamboo Bridge, has an island flavor in lyrics but was sung by Louis Armstrong. As it has become a standard number among Japanese Hawaiian band, people assume that the song is of Hawaiian origin. Now this song is one of the must-plays even for an island musician who plays before Japanese audience.

One last interesting example of evolution of a Hawaiian band having steel guitar as a main attraction is that they seldom play Hawaiian songs but mostly Japanese pop songs. Please hear how they sound:(select the song 01)
http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Discography ... 41251.html

Jack Isomura
Yokohama, Japan

Mark Lynott · Post by **Mark Lynott** » 29 Nov 2007 6:43 am

Jack,
excellent descriptions with helpful examples as well, thanks!

Do the music stores in the Tokyo metro area have new non-pedal and pedal steels in stock? How about vintage instruments?

I do not recall seeing steel guitars in Tokyo's Ochanomizu area music dealers when I was there in 2004, but I may have missed them.

Jackiso · Post by **Jackiso** » 29 Nov 2007 8:00 am

There are a couple of music stores in Ochanomizu area and one in Ginza which carries used and NOS lap steels. Their inventory is quite limited and supply is not consistent. Occasionally they have vintage steels but they carry hefty price tag. Chances are that you would get a good vintage steel by person to person trade for more reasonable price.
Music stores take order for a new steel made by Excel or Canopus. Fender Japan has ceased to make steels. Canopus itself is a dealer of pedal steels like Emmons, Mullen, GFI etc. As I see it the steel guitar market here does not share the vigor of the hula dancing or the ukulele market.
Jack Isomura
Yokohama, Japan

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 29 Nov 2007 9:40 am

One last interesting example of evolution of a Hawaiian band having steel guitar as a main attraction is that they seldom play Hawaiian songs but mostly Japanese pop songs. Please hear how they sound:(select the song 01)
http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Discography ... 41251.html

I listened with great interest to the songs played on this discography. They were all done extremely well. In some on the music, there seemed to be an integration of traditional Japanese music with western (not country/western) and latin music. I wonder what the older generation in Japan feel about the modernizing of the traditional Japanese music? Is it accepted?

Jack, it nice to see you back posting on SGF. I have missed your posts.

Aloha,

Don

Jackiso · Post by **Jackiso** » 29 Nov 2007 5:01 pm

Don, mahalo nui for nice words. When someone is talking about your X'mas tree can you remain silent?

The traditional Japanese music per se never dies. Veteran singers are no longer chart toppers nor head liners at the arena but still keep decent exposure at rural venues. Young and good looking artists have filled the void of veterans going out. Should you want to sing a traditional song loud not embarassing younger people around,there are KARAOKE house everywhere. Our Hawaiian band almost always include in the repertoire some of the traditional songs arranged in the same manner as you hear in this thread. There the steel guitar sound is indispensable.
Jack Isomura
Yokohama, Japan

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